Preparing for first paint correction, looking for any advice/tips!

[LS1SSChris]

Hey everyone, brand new to the forums here but not to Adam's. Have always been a huge fan and it's all I have used on my car, always keep it waxed with Buttery wax and use the detail spray after washes to give it some extra slickness/shine. To the average eye, I would say my car looks pretty decent, however I'm ready to take it to the next level with a good machine polish, so I bought the Adams basic PC polisher kit. 

 

Here's what I have in my head thus far: 

 

-Wash with dawn 

-Claybar

-One pass with Correcting Polish on Orange pad

-One pass with Finishing Polish with the White Pad 

-A coat of Buttery Wax applied by hand to protect

-One coat of Detail Spray to add even more slickness

 

This sound about right? Willing to take any criticism or tips before I tackle this, I will be taking my sweet time with it as I do have a garage to work in and it isn't my daily driver so anything else I need to buy or is recommended I'm willing to add on. Trying to get the best possible results out of what I have.

 

Here's the car! It's an '02 Camaro SS in Sunset Orange Metallic, 30k miles. Trying to get it as shiny as I can before all the shows start! Thanks for any help guys! 

 

 

[USCGRetiredJosh]

When you get to the show apply brilliant glaze

[AvsBest]

You shouldn't plan how many passes you will do in advance because the truth is: you don't know until you try it. It may take 1 or 10 passes to get your 2x2 test section perfect (I doubt 10 looking at your car..)

 

Also with the PC slow is fast. If you think you are going slow enough, slow it down an extra notch at speed of 5 or 6 if you don't mind vibrating until the next day and you'll get there!

[James__]

Car looks great!

 

Like said above, use some Brilliant glaze once you park it at a show for some extra shine.

 

Also, being that you show the car and is sound like you keep the car coated with Buttery Wax, you should look into getting a jar of Americana Paste Wax.  If price is an issue, the new formulation comes in a slightly smaller container and at a better price point.  Also, you can pick up a can of the original Americana on the Adam's Polishes Ebay store on clearance for $40 right now.  the better paste wax should make a noticeable difference in the shine quality!

[SJC96GT]

Chris,

 

Welcome to the forum!!

 

After wash with dawn and after you clay, (this is my personal preference) but I like to wash the car again to remove any clay residue. If you have any stubborn spots of grime on the car (and have deep wheel cleaner or Adam's new wheel cleaner) I suggest diluting it 1:1 and using it to help remove any stubborn spots of tar, road grime, etc from the paint before you start polishing.

 

After you're are done polishing, I would also suggest applying paint sealant, then glaze and then wax, for the best possible results. (I do remove the polishing residue after polishing by doing an IPA wipe down. It's up to you whether you'd like to do that or not, some do and some don't)

 

Your car looks great, you'll have to post some pictures of it after you are done. If you want the best possible shine, in the future save up for patriot wax... it's an absolute joy to apply and remove. Gives the paint depth, clarity and that wet look. Apply glaze to your wheels once and then see how much they shine, you'll really like the results.

 

Hope that helps!!

[chops1sc]

Before you start compounding, do a test section on the worst panel. Start with the least aggressive combo (white pad w/finishing polish) and check your results. If you still see swirls, go to the next aggressive pad, etc. until you get the results you want. You might not even need the correcting compound.

 

This will also help you get a feel for how fast and how many passes you need to go. Every car is different, even the panels on a car are different. Also, use a good light source to help check your work.

 

Beautiful car!

[LS1SSChris]

Wow, thanks for all the compliments and helpful advice everyone! Feeling much more confident with my ability to do this and also inspired after checking out how clean you guys keep your cars/trucks. I guess the reason why I had one pass in my head is because this car has very light swirl marks and virtually no scratches/knicks. I've always properly 2 bucket washed it and it's garaged 24/7. I don't think it will take much to correct, so I think I will actually just try with the finishing polish first like chop1sc said, but we shall see! 

 

But it looks like I need to add Americana Paste Wax and Brilliant Glaze to my collection, I'll certainly be ordering both. I'm always looking for products that will add shine to this car, no matter what the cost and those two seem worth it to me. Anyways, I will certainly post some sunlight pictures once I get my PC kit in the mail and correct the car. Really appreciate the help guys. 

Edited April 14, 2016 by LS1SSChris

[LS1SSChris]

Hey everyone, just wanted to update I "finished" my car not too long ago. It isn't 100% perfect but I'm very happy with it and appreciate all the help from you guys. Took me about 10 hours from start to finish, here are a few finished pics. Haven't been able to have it out in the sun yet but this will give you an idea of how it came out. Very reflective and crisp, swirls have basically all been eliminated minus a few tiny spots here and there. I'm happy with it, especially for my first go round. 

 

[James__]

It turned out great! Nice work!

[Taderzngravy]

That is my favorite color/year camaro. I had a 98 z28 for my first car and I miss the hell out of it. Judging by the plate, you must be getting ready for cruise week

[Taderzngravy]

Double post...

Edited April 27, 2016 by Taderzngravy

[Milt IV]

Car looks great! I'd say that's damn good for your first attempt. So is the C6 the daily or is that wifey's car?

 

Did you use foam or MF orange pad? 

Edited April 27, 2016 by Milt IV

[PHOKUS]

Car looks awesome. Be sure to post some pics from your first show!

[LS1SSChris]

Sorry for the late replies everyone! Have been super busy lately. 

That is my favorite color/year camaro. I had a 98 z28 for my first car and I miss the hell out of it. Judging by the plate, you must be getting ready for cruise week

 

Thanks a lot man, I love this car. It's actually my 2nd Camaro I had a 2000 navy blue metallic SS before this that got totaled. And yes I'm counting down the days! I cannot wait!

 

Car looks great! I'd say that's damn good for your first attempt. So is the C6 the daily or is that wifey's car?

 

Did you use foam or MF orange pad? 

 

Thanks, that's actually my fathers car next to mines lol. I'll be doing correction work on that soon! I just used the foam orange pad and white finishing pad, I realized it wasn't quite aggressive enough to get a 100% perfect swirl free finish on this hard F-Body paint, but a big, big improvement from before. 

Car looks awesome. Be sure to post some pics from your first show!

 

Will do! Thanks! 

 

Actually have a couple questions for you guys. Weather has been bad for the past few weeks but I pulled it out in the sun once, it really does look much better but I do still see some very fine swirls in spots like on the hood and spoiler. If I wanted to go back and work on it more, would I need to clay it again and start all over? Doubt I will, not too worried about it as they are very minor but just curious. 

 

The other thing I was wondering is my car sits in the garage and collects dust, I used to just lightly brush the dust off with a clean microfiber and then go back and go over the car with detail spray, but I'm scared of doing that now after doing this paint correction, I don't want to scratch it. What would you guys recommend I do? Not sure if the light dust that collects on it constitutes a rinseless or waterless wash but if that's the safest way I'll do it. 

Edited May 7, 2016 by LS1SSChris

[AvsBest]

If you haven't driven the car, I wouldn't clay again.

 

For the dusting, I suggest at least waterless to be safe. You could probably do detail spray but I would go waterless.

[LS1SSChris]

If you haven't driven the car, I wouldn't clay again.

 

For the dusting, I suggest at least waterless to be safe. You could probably do detail spray but I would go waterless.

 

Yeah, its only seen sunlight once for about 10 minutes since I did this so I can't imagine the paint being too contaminated, I'm tempted to go back over it in some spots again since it sounds like I don't need any prep work at this point. Definitely will just waterless wash then, thanks for the help!

[ragin_cajuns]

I came to this section to post basically the same question.  When I first came to this forum I thought I had no need for a polisher since my truck is light grey and you can't really see swirl marks on it like a dark colored car but I was washing my wife's dark colored SUV the other day and noticed a ton of swirl marks so I think I am getting a polisher as soon as there is another 15% off sale.

 

My plan -

     - strip wash

     - correcting polish

     - finishing polish

     - paint sealant

     - Americana wax (few days later)

 

I'm skipping the clay step as I just clayed and sealed her SUV a few weeks ago. 

 

Question on the strip wash.  I know some people use Dawn soap but I read somewhere about people using Adams car shampoo and putting All Purpose Cleaner in it.  Will that strip the sealant and Americana wax as well?

 

Thanks,

Edited May 10, 2016 by ragin_cajuns

[James__]

Dawn dish soap is a good way to strip wash if you do not have APC to add to your regular wash bucket; it will cause your rubber moldings to dry out and become chalky in most cases.  Adding 2-3 oz of APC to your regular wash bucket is the best way to strip wash and has enough cleaning power to easily strip the sealant and Americana.

 

P.S. - I do recommend that you go ahead and clay the vehicle again being that it has been back on the road for a few weeks.  If anything, it should be a very quick and easy clay session but will ensure that there is nothing missed by the wash for the polisher to pick up and grind into your paint.

Edited May 10, 2016 by James__

[ragin_cajuns]

Dawn dish soap is a good way to strip wash if you do not have APC to add to your regular wash bucket; it will cause your rubber moldings to dry out and become chalky in most cases.  Adding 2-3 oz of APC to your regular wash bucket is the best way to strip wash and has enough cleaning power to easily strip the sealant and Americana.

 

PS - I do recommend that you go ahead and clay the vehicle again being that it has been back on the road for a few weeks.  If anything, it should be a very quick and easy clay session but will ensure that there is nothing missed by the wash for the polisher to pick up and grind into your paint.

 

good point

[ragin_cajuns]

I've been watching videos on how to use the polishers, correcting polish and finishing polish.  In one video the applied the finishing polish directly over the correcting polish.  In another video they buffed the correcting polish off before applying the finishing polish.  What's the difference?

[Ricky Bobby]

No difference except you can check your work if you wipe the residues off a bit before going to the next step - either way works -

[AvsBest]

I'd clay it again too to be on the safe side if the vehicle has been driven around for a few days

[LS1SSChris]

Just wanted to post a decent picture of the car after the correction out in the sun! This was yesterday before me and my bro cruised to a big car show, was 120 miles each way. Car is super dirty now but I had a blast and got a ton of compliments/looks cruising around from people on how clean the car looked. Glad I took the plunge and decided to machine polish it. Question though, if by chance you get light swirls/marring on a spot on the car for whatever reason after it's been corrected, is it safe to take the PC and white pad with the finishing polish and remove them? I know clearcoat has thickness to it but since it's a PC and not an aggressive pad I would think that it's safe. 

 

Edited May 21, 2016 by LS1SSChris

[marquez93]

Yes, it's safe and suggested. It's always best to use the least aggressive method first. So if it's very light swirls, just go for the white pad and finishing polish and they should come right out. If you wash correctly, that might be all you'll ever have to do again.

[LS1SSChris]

Alright cool, thanks a lot. Yeah I feel like my washing method is decent, I've always used 2 buckets with grit guards with this car, so I think my chances of deep scratches/heavy swirling should be minimized. 

Edited May 22, 2016 by LS1SSChris

[AvsBest]

You can probably polish you car once a day for 6 months straight with the PC and it would still be safe